Housing Minister to give more powers for communities to
choose boats on water alongside bricks and mortar

By Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Housing Minister Grant Shapps urged local authorities on
August 27, 2011 not to become landlocked in their quest to meet local housing
needs – but to consider how new powers restoring local control over housing
provision and planning can enable people to choose boats on water alongside
bricks and mortar.

Mr. Shapps said that more people than ever are choosing to make
a boat their home and that boats with residential moorings could be an example
of how unconventional housing can allow people to live in areas of the country
where perhaps they couldn't afford to do so otherwise.

And as new moorings could be eligible for the New Homes Bonus,
the Minister said that there was a strong incentive for councils and communities
to grant planning permission for more residential moorings. The money that they
receive could be invested in new marina facilities or waterside recreational
activities that everyone could benefit from, as well as being used to attract
further private investment and drive the regeneration of the often-Brownfield
land around parts of the country's waterways.

Half the population live within five miles one of Britain's
waterways and so not just those living on the water could benefit from the fresh
injection of funding; water based recreation and tourism is thought to generate
over £1billion for local economies, and supports 24,000 jobs.